Teeth – Our very own peacock ’ s tail !
Like a peacock ’ s tail , teeth in humans are used to judge attractiveness . A study by researchers at the Universities of Leeds and Central Lancashire showed that a white , evenly spaced set of teeth make people seem younger , healthier and more attractive . This is because like a peacock ’ s tail , good teeth are a sign of health and genetic quality . Researchers took pictures of models before digitally changing the colour and spacing of their teeth . Three shades were used to colour the teeth – a yellowish brown , healthy white , and a dazzling white that can only be achieved by bleaching . The photos were then shown to 150 young men and women who were then asked how attractive they found the models . Yellow teeth were unpopular , as were widely spaced teeth , according to the results , which was published in the journal PLoS ONE . The researchers say that teeth are used to judge age and fertility as well as providing clues to childhood illnesses , diet and some genetic disorders . The good news is that anyone with yellow teeth need not rush out to spend a fortune on whitening , as brilliant white smiles were judged to be no more attractive than a more natural shade of white .
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There hasn ’ t been a lot of research into the impact of vaping on teeth and oral health . But we , at British American Tobacco , and others are looking at the potential positive impact on oral health of switching cigarette consumers to e-cigarettes . The good news is that preliminary results suggest that vaping does not stain teeth like smoke does .
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Figure 1 . A ) Products in a puffing robot , which is used to generate vapour / smoke .
Figure 2 . B ) Left to Right : Filter Pads after 10 puffs of a cigarette , 48 puffs from Glo , 500 puffs from Vype and a blank ( i . e . unused filter pad ).
Figure 3 : From the top , teeth exposed to ( 1 ) smoke extract ( 2 ) e-cig extract ( 3 ) glo extract ( 4 ) solvent with no extract .
Our Study
As part of our studies on oral health , scientists at British American Tobacco have studied discoloration in teeth . In this study , we assessed a prototype Vype e-cigarette and a tobacco heating product ( glo ) for tooth discoloration and compared the impact on teeth to that of cigarette smoke . A puffing robot ( Figure 1 A ) was used to puff on the products to produce smoke and vapour . In each case , the smoke or vapour was collected onto a filter pad and then a solvent was used to extract the solid material from the filter pad . The impact of the extracted material ( extract ) on tooth discoloration was then tested using cows ’ teeth . Cows ’ teeth are routinely used in laboratory experiments in lieu of human teeth . They are used for example to test oral hygiene products like toothpaste and mouthwash (“ Bovine Teeth as a Substitute for Human Teeth in Dental Research : a review of literature ”, Journal of Oral Science 2011 , Vol 53 , No 3 , 273-282 ) The teeth were first prepared by polishing them using fine sandpaper to create a surface more like that of human teeth . The teeth were then incubated at body temperature in human saliva to create an environment mimicking that in the human mouth . This incubation results in the creation of the so-called pellicle layer on the teeth . This is the smooth film you can feel on your teeth when you rub your tongue over them . It is basically the normal protein layer that forms on the teeth when certain molecules in saliva bond to the tooth enamel . The teeth were then incubated in an oven at body temperature and exposed to the various extracts from the cigarette smoke or e-cig or THP vapour . Some teeth were also incubated in solvent with no extract at all to act as a control / blank . After the first day , the teeth exposed to the smoke extract started to change colour and over the course of 14 days , these teeth got darker and darker in colour . Even with the naked eye , the color changes with the cigarette extract could be easily seen after 1 day . The exact colour change was also measured in the laboratory using a special camera that can detect tiny changes in hue . In contrast to teeth exposed to smoke extract , those exposed to extracts from the e-cigarette or THP products exhibited minimal change in colour , similar to untreated teeth ( Figure 2 ). These results were presented at the annual conference of the American Association for Dental Research in Florida , US , on 24th March . These results are very encouraging , but these experiments represent an extreme scenario – almost continuous exposure to a very concentrated extract for two weeks . However , future work will focus on developing tests that more accurately represent how teeth and the mouth are exposed to smoke and vapour when a consumer uses their product . This will allow comparisons of the impact of smoking versus vaping versus using a tobacco heated product in conditions that mimic real life use .
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